FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT TRACTOR TRAILER DRIVER - PAGE 3

Troopers said a tractor-trailer jumped in front of a Dodge Charger, killing its driver and seriously injuring two passengers this week near Howey-in-the-Hills. Pedro Hinojosa Jr., 38, of Leesburg, was dead at the scene, FHP spokeswoman Kim Montes said. The accident happened about 8:50 a.m. Monday. Tractor-trailer driver George Stevens, 63, was heading west on County Road 455 when he attempted to make a left turn onto State Road 19, according to the FHP. Troopers said Stevens, of Louisville, Ky., crossed the path of the Dodge, which was heading north on S.R. 19 and struck the left side of the trailer.

A Palm Bay man and one of two passengers in his car were killed Tuesday when he turned into the path of a tractor-trailer loaded with sod on State Road 520 in east Orange County.The accident occurred about 11 a.m. at S.R. 520 and Yates Road, about a quarter-mile north of the Bee Line Expressway.Killed in the accident were Joseph White, 64, of Palm Bay and Margaret Caruso, age unknown, also of Palm Bay, Florida Highway Patrol troopers said.Another passenger in the car, Mildred White, 77, of Palm Bay, was in stable condition late Tuesday in the intensive-care unit of Orlando Regional Medical Center.

A tractor-trailer driver's coughing fit resulted in an huge traffic jam Friday, stalling traffic on Interstate 4 for hours. Florida Highway Patrol troopers say Carl Thompson, 60, was hauling lumber on eastbound I-4 around 2:30 a.m. near the Maitland interchange when he started coughing. He lost control of the tractor-trailer and ran into a concrete barrier. Thompson's load spilled across the median and into the highway's westbound lanes. Three other vehicles, including an ambulance, were unable to avoid the debris.

Four traffic accidents within 30 minutes closed State Road 50 near Winter Garden for two hours Tuesday, a Winter Garden Police Department official said.''The only thing that went right today was that it wasn't pouring down rain at the time,'' police spokesman Lt. John Johnson said.Trouble began when Amanda Smith, 13, crossed S.R. 50 at 9th Street on her way to a bus stop around 8:30 a.m. Witnesses said she stepped in front of an ambulance traveling east.''Somebody actually anticipated the accident happening and they blew their horn,'' Johnson said.

Four people were killed in separate traffic accidents across Central Florida Thursday night and Friday, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The first was a hit-and-run accident that killed a pedestrian at 9:56 p.m. Thursday on State Road 50 near Hiawassee Road in west Orange County, said Trooper Kim Miller, an FHP spokeswoman. Jorge Luis Rodriguez, 18, of Miami was standing in the center turn lane when a motorist traveling west tried to pass another vehicle on S.R. 50 and struck him. A second vehicle going east also hit Rodriguez, who died shortly after he was taken to a hospital.

KISSIMMEE -- A 58-year-old man was killed Monday when the tractor-trailer he was driving veered off the road, plowed down some trees and crashed into a bus stop, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Charlie C. Stokesberry of Georgia was driving west on U.S. Highway 192, west of Oren Brown Road, near Kissimmee, when he crossed the median and eastbound lanes, then slammed into some palm trees and a bus-stop canopy before coming to a stop in a ditch, FHP said.

An Orlando man was in serious condition Saturday after an accident at 11:30 p.m. Friday on U.S. Highway 17-92, a mile north of Kissimmee.Douglas E. Barquist, 26, 5197 Sinderland Parkway, had surgery Saturday after the crash between his car and a tractor-trailer driven by Paul Harvey Taylor, 36, 830 W. State Road 50, Winter Garden.The Florida Highway Patrol said Barquist was traveling north when his car crossed the center line and hit the southbound tractor-trailer. Taylor was treated at Humana Hospital Kissimmee for minor injuries.

CLERMONT - The driver of a tractor-trailer died when one of the tires on his rig blew out, causing him to lose control, the Florida Highway Patrol reported. The accident occurred about 11 a.m. Friday, on U.S. Highway 27, about 21/2 miles south of Clermont. Wally Tarver, 52, of Haines City was killed. His brother Abel, 54, was a front-seat passenger but escaped unhurt, the FHP said. Tarver was driving south, the FHP reported. When his tire blew, he veered into the median. He came back onto the roadway, swerved again and the rig rolled, coming to rest on its roof against a guard rail, the FHP reported.

A 41-year-old Jacksonville man was killed Friday when his tractor-trailer careened off a bridge during a thunderstorm and plunged 30 feet into a canal, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.Thomas Jordan was driving north on Interstate 95 near the southern tip of Brevard County when he lost control of his tractor-trailer about 1:30 p.m., said Sgt. F.D. Barrow.Jordan escaped the tractor-trailer as it sank in 20 feet of water, the trooper said. He surfaced once, but went back under and failed to come up again, Barrow said.